Sunday, October 21, 2012

NASCAR Out Of "The Job" (Updated)

Updated Saturday 10/20: As with so many reality shows, there is a big difference between what is planned and what come to fruition. NASCAR has informed us they have decided not to participate in The Job reality series this season. No reason given, but it is a done deal.

It's that time of year and a new slew of "scripted reality" TV shows are cranking up once again to entertain America. This time it's not Undercover Boss but a new series in which NASCAR is participating. It is time to find out who gets The Job.

Here is the scoop from CBS:

The series, produced by Emmy Award winners Michael Davies (“Who Wants to be a Millionaire”) and Mark Burnett (“Survivor,” “The Voice”), gives candidates selected from around the country a chance to win dynamic positions with potential for enormous growth at some of America’s most iconic companies.

Guided by Emmy Award nominee Lisa Ling (“The View”), the country’s best and brightest compete in a compelling and challenging competition for a dream job at their dream company in industries such as fashion, game design, sports, travel and entertainment.

The Job has a Twitter account, a Facebook page and an opportunity to once again expose NASCAR on TV in primetime. These scripted reality shows are called that because they "set-up" situations and many times use scripted elements to create tension. Nothing is spontaneous. Most importantly, these types of shows create cheap programming for the producers. No union fees with this group.

Here is how entertainment reporter Joe Adalian from Vulture.com described the show:

The idea behind the show: Five qualified folks, chosen from an applicant pool of thousands, compete for a chance to win a gig at a well-known company. Each week will feature a different batch of contestants and, we assume, a new company (shades of Undercover Boss, sans the undercover part).

Casting calls have already taken place in both Los Angeles and New York. It has yet to be revealed what the five candidates will have to do to get The Job, but these shows almost universally have the same result. A "personality" who desires an opportunity for a bigger stage and a media presence wins and then fades quickly when facing the reality of the actual job.

The irony is there are lots of folks working hard in the social media and marketing field right now who would legitimately benefit from the opportunity to work in a professional atmosphere. Click here for the TDP post from July titled "When Media and Marketing Collide."

The winner of this reality show will be working for NASCAR in Charlotte. Here are some of the details on where, what and why from a NASCAR media release:

“The Fan and Media Engagement Center will leverage industry-leading technology in order to better engage with the massive community that is the NASCAR fan base,” said Steve Phelps, NASCAR senior vice president and chief marketing officer. “This is a clear example of our commitment to using cutting-edge technology to better inform our sport. Ultimately, this tool will help our industry connect with media and fans more effectively and efficiently.”

Measurement also will be a key function of the Fan and Media Engagement Center. Those capabilities will expand across qualitative and quantitative measurements and include tonality, volume, proximity and other coverage attributes in regular reports the FMEC will generate.

The center will be staffed and managed by the NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications team. Located on the same floor as NASCAR.com in offices at NASCAR Plaza in Charlotte, N.C., the FMEC is slated for testing in October, with a full rollout expected by the start of the 2013 NASCAR season. The center will be housed in a 500-square-foot, glass-enclosed area, outfitted with state-of-the-art touch screens, television monitors and multiple seated viewing areas and work stations.

So, keep your eyes peeled for a new show this winter that will probably have a lot of NASCAR hype surrounding it. Now you know exactly what it is, where it came from and what it is about.

We invite your opinion on this topic. Comments may be moderate prior to posting.

28 comments:

So this is what NASCAR is doing with their social media strategy? First they launched that failure that was Twitter.com/#NASCAR, run by a bunch of "social media experts" who knew nothing about the sport, now this?

Listen, NASCAR's Social and Digital media team needs help. This isn't the way to go about it. Brett Jewkes and Marc Jenkins at NASCAR need to take a look at the talent that's on Twitter during the race, and use some of these fans.

There are hard-working people out there who are passionate about social media and NASCAR that will benefit a company. This idea is just straight up terrible.

But as usual, what can NASCAR do right digitally? Apparently not much.

Measurement also will be a key function of the Fan and Media Engagement Center. Those capabilities will expand across qualitative and quantitative measurements and include tonality, volume, proximity and other coverage attributes in regular reports the FMEC will generate.

I swear I have read these words before on this site "quoting" someone from NASCAR marketing. My reaction now is the same as it was then: Overuse of trendy, faux-hip buzzwords impacts me as does the sound of fingernails on a blackboard.

Despite that I'll be sure to apply if I can be assured I will be placed in a position to flip a table over and scream at folk because Teresa Giudice is my heroine and I want to grow up to be just like her. :)

It looks like NASCAR is blending two types of entertainment formats for our enjoyment (or punishment). Do we really want professional wrestling combined with reality TV? Professional wrestling was once very popular until people got sick of watching fake "excitement" and I think reality shows heading that way. Fans want real and I think NASCAR ratings and attendance are showing that.

Why doesn't NASCAR pattern themselves after a successful format? How about professional football? They play for real and a touchdown counts as much in the first quarter as in the last. The players don't coast around staying out of trouble until the last few minutes. The referees don't throw a flag near the end to make an exciting finish.

Mr Editor -You've forwarding your resume, right? Oh, yeah, you'd have to give up the idyllic clime of South Florida for closed-circuit life in the hub of NASCAR ...That negates the deal right there ...and they'd never accept being told what to do by someone who actually knows what they're doing ...just another case of being told what's best for us - you know like NASCAR,FOX,ESPN, et alWalter

I'm not sure whether this is another in a series of moves to appeal to the youth market that definitely needs - or an example of a company that knows it is on the verge of decline, desperately searching for a way to reverse the trend.

If NASCAR didn't adjust any of the competition rules, I would be more critical towards NASCAR. Dumping the top 35 makes qualifying and the Daytona Duel races watchable again. Plus, allowing testing should help the competition aspect. So there are positives, it's not the land of doom and gloom.

The negative is all recent NASCAR marketing moves have just been stunts that are useless to the sport in the long term. We had the #NASCAR page that didn't go over so well. They turned the drivers into characters promoting the Chase (which flopped looking at the ratings). Now a staged reality show segment is the next big marketing plan. It's frustrating the sport has to go to these lengths to chase sponsorship.

What, we get no markety gobbledy gook words on why na$car pulled out? We can only hope someone in na$car is saying, "We are suppose to be about racing, let's concentrate on getting that back to what it is suppose to be!" MC

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LOL, great bunch of buzzwords that mean NOTHING if the racing isn't any good.

Effective marketing needs to be followed up by appropriate actions.

Not seeing much of that from NASCAR. Today on ESPN, at the end of the race, Bestwick skipped over the 10th place finish that Gordon had to talk about Hamlin in 13th - because all that matters NOW is the top 3 in the chase.

Wisconsin Steve, it may not be a horrible idea for a reality show. Unless you're hiring someone to appear on reality shows, it's a lousy way to select an employee.

If NASCAR wants a reality show, the 'Drive for Diversity' is a much better candidates. Heck, even my mother, who is decidedly not a racing fan, learned from and enjoyed that five- or six-episode series on Roush's 'Gong Show' a few years ago.

Dan, I think you missed 'incentivize', but I'm not sure. After the third line my eyes glazed over.